what's the relationship between harry reid and mitch mcconnell? guest: it's hard to tell. the rhetoric on the senate floor can be pretty tough. they call each other my dear friend whenever you want them on the c-span channels, but i think they both are in a frustrating position. senator harry reid does not have more than 60 members, so we cannot block a filibuster but senator mcconnell is adept at applying in cases where he'd want to block legislation. but i think they both have respect for each other's legislative skills and they have proven in the past that when they need to cut a deal, but can cut a deal and bring their party's members with them. host: john mccain writes a big budget deal is still worth doing. he points out to the history of some of these agreements, most notably with ronald reagan in the 1980's and president bush in 1991 in which republicans agreed to spending cuts that never happened while raising taxes. guest: that's right. there's a little confusion about how much spending cuts happened. it's the same sort of formula both sides are pursuing this tim